What Life is Really Like Behind the Hall Door

Sheet Pan Turmeric Meatballs

When life gets super busy, who has the time or the energy to stand in front of the hob and make dinner? Not me…and I’ll bet…not you either. Which is why I think, after you try this recipe, you’ll agree that these sheet pan meatballs are the bomb! Mix up six ingredients, roll them into little balls {or better yet…get the kids to do it!}, drop them onto a baking sheet, pop them in the oven…fifteen minutes later…you’re done. It really couldn’t be simpler.

If you’re feeling particularly energetic and you want to fry them up…go for it…they’re great that way too. But I’m only going to offer this: when you put them into the oven there’s no grease splattered everywhere to clean up. Uh huh…I see the wheels of your mind clicking over!

These meatballs are delicious doused in a homemade spaghetti sauce {here’s mine}, but you could easily drop the into the kids’ macaroni n’ cheese, line them up in a bread roll with some homemade sriracha mayo, dot a frozen pizza with them, skewer them with cherry tomatoes, tiny mozzarella balls and basil leaves, really there’s just no end to their versatility.

~XoK

Sheet Pan Turmeric Meatballs

Makes 32 one-inch Meatballs

Ingredients

400g organic mince beef

1 free range egg

2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1 teaspoon mixed Italian herbs

2 globes garlic, peeled and crushed

sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

olive oil

Directions

1. Heat oven to 200ºC/400ºF and place oven shelf in the middle of the oven.

2. Mix all the ingredients, except for the olive oil, in a medium sized bowl with your hands and form meat into 3cm/1-1/2″ size balls.

3. Lightly coat a baking sheet with olive oil. Add the meatballs to the sheet pan and place in the middle of the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until meatballs are cooked through.

Additional Notes, Related Articles & Credit:

* To read up on the health benefits of turmeric, here’s an article from the bbcgoodfood.com website.

** Over at Smittenkitchen.com, Deb Perelman has a recipe for sheet pan meatballs with turmeric chickpeas that also looks yummy.

*** Did you know that in Italy there is no traditional dish there called Spaghetti and Meatballs? Tis true! “Meatballs in general have multiple creation stories all across the world from köttbullars in Sweden to the various köftes in Turkey. Yes, Italy has its version of meatballs called polpettes, but they differ from their American counterpart in multiple ways. They are primarily eaten as a meal itself (plain) or in soups and made with any meat from turkey to fish. Often, they are no bigger in size than golf balls; in the region of Abruzzo, they can be no bigger in size than marbles and called polpettines. But those large meatballs, doused in marinara over spaghetti are 100 percent American. So how did spaghetti and meatballs evolve from polpettes? The answer is similar to every ethnic cuisine that traveled to this country; immigrants had to make do with the ingredients they could find and afford.” To read more, please visit: www.smithsonianmag.com.